Nigeria claim five laurels in men’s wrestling to hit second on medal table

Team Nigeria capped a memorable outing in wrestling as the men won two gold and three silver medals in the Freestyle events on the penultimate day of the 12th All Africa Games in Morocco.

Twenty four hours after the ladies impressively won five gold medals and one silver, the men followed suit, accounting for five more medals.

Multiple African champions Amas Daniel (65kg) and Emmanuel Ogbonna (74kg) won gold, while Soso Taramau (97kg), Ebikwenimo Welson (57kg) and veteran Sinivie Boltic (125kg) settled for silver medals.

Their performance brings to 12 (7 gold, 4 silver and 1 bronze), the number of medals won by Team Nigeria in wrestling at the 2019 African Games.

According to Sunday Dare, minister of youth and sports development, “Nigeria came first in the overall athletics table with 10 gold, 7 Silver and 6 bronze medals dusting Kenya to 2nd place, Ethiopia 3rd place. A feat worth celebrating.”

“In Morocco Nigeria has seen a resurgence in the Field while the track held out a solid performance,” Dare said.

“This overall performance shows what the Nigerian spirit can accomplish when the chips are down..with even better preparation and motivation, Nigeria is set for a rejuvenation of world-beating performances in sports and the govt is fully committed to this”.